Review: James Taylor, Carole King at HP Pavilion

To say that the music played by James Taylor and Carole King on Tuesday night connected with the crowd at the HP Pavilion in San Jose is a vast understatement. Indeed, it was almost as if the two legendary singer-songwriters – currently celebrating the 40th anniversary of their first collaboration with a world tour – had cued up the very soundtrack to these fans’ lives.

Each song brought memories, which washed across the faces in the crowd in different ways. Each lyric struck home, as if the words had personal meaning to every fan in the building. And the voices were as familiar to these listeners as that of family members, delivering a type of warmth and comfort that is rarely found in a major concert venue.

The pair’s co-headlining trek – dubbed the “Troubadour Reunion” tour, in honor of the West Hollywood venue where King and Taylor performed together in 1970 – has proven to be one of the major musical success stories of the year. The HP date drew a capacity audience of some 16,000, resulting in one of the largest concert crowds in the venue’s 17-year history, according to promoter Another Planet Entertainment. Demand has been so great locally that the “Troubadour Reunion” is scheduled to make a return trip to the Bay Area this summer – July 19 at Oracle Arena in Oakland (see www.apeconcerts.com for more information).

The two-set, 2 ½ hour concert began as Taylor and King walked, hand-in-hand, onto the slowly rotating circular stage located at the center of the arena’s floor. They smiled at the crowd, nodded to their fellow band members and then took their places. The 62-year-old Taylor began to strum his guitar and King, 68, laid her hands on the keys of her piano, and the magic began.

Initially, the set list closely resembled what’s found on the pair’s newly released concert album, “Live at the Troubadour,” which was recorded during a series of gigs at the famed folk-music shrine in 2007. Taylor’s voice sounded as sweet as ever as he coaxed out the lines to such beauties as “Carolina in My Mind” and “Country Road,” while King was convincingly soulful and utterly poignant on “So Far Away” and “Smackwater Jack,” two tracks from her seminal 1971 album “Tapestry.”

Those songs would sound great anytime their respective parents sung them. What made the renditions on Tuesday night so special, however, was the chance to see them performed by both artists. That might sound obvious – and it is, especially if one knows the extent of the shared history of these two stars. For starters, King was featured on Taylor’s breakthrough effort, 1970’s “Sweet Baby James,” while he returned the favor on “Tapestry.”

Making the evening even more memorable was the band. Three of the players in the six-member supporting cast – guitarist Danny Kortchmar, bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russell Kunkel – were part of the original so-called “Section” that backed Taylor and King in the studio and on the live stage in the early ‘70s.

The two stars really could do no wrong as they flipped places at the microphone and continued to conjure up emotions with such hits as “Fire and Rain,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “Sweet Baby James” and “You’ve Got a Friend.”

Every fan in attendance surely had a particular favorite in the set list – which, in all likelihood, directly corresponded to who they were with, where they were or what they were doing when they first heard the tune. The single most memorable selection of the night, however, might’ve been King’s powerful take on her composition “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” which Aretha Franklin scored a major hit with in 1967.

As the incomparable songwriter belted out the number, women could be seen wiping tears from their faces. More telling of the degree of emotion that song stirred in the crowd, however, were all the men that sang along with gusto to the lyrics: “You make me feel like a natural woman!”

And you know how it felt? Like everything else about this night, it felt superb.

Jim Harrington

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Would you be able to tell me the time the concert started in relation to the schedule start time? I am going to a future show and will be running tight on time. Thanks

WEC

Hi. I saw them in Seattle and they started roughly 15 minutes or so after the printed time. Great, great show.

Kerry

I was so looking for to this show but I was totally disappointed at the sound system. The sound echoed from the first note to the last and it was very distorted and noisy. I can’t believe they sell concert hall priced tickets for barnyard acoustics. This is last the musical performance I will go to at HP Pavilion.

ABW

I agree that the sound system sucked. But the strength and energy of the singers was so fabulous that it could be overlooked. This music rocked and I couldn’t have wanted anything better, more wonderful than these two superstar songwriters and singers, the best of our era.

gary

Yes, I was at the HP Pavillion last night and I too was disappointed in the sound system. We were sitting in 215 a ways up and there was alot of echo for sure, which is really a shame on an acoustical set. King’s voice was great and Taylor’s was fantastic for his age! I have been to many concerts over the years and I don’t care for the arena setting, it’s great for hockey, not so for acoustic guitar and piano! All in all in was nice to see them perform. This show started pretty much on time, so give ample time to find parking if you arrive 15-20 mins prior to showtime. Expect to do a little walking and wear tennis shoes. BTW…two brews is 18 bucks

ann klein

I sat next to you last night at the concert and was interested in how you would review it. I thought your article was right on……my friend and I
had a great time..Lucky for us (our location) we thought the sound was great!!!

http://MercuryNews Peter

Great artists, great energy, nostalgia and an overall great feeling. But probably the worst sound I have ever experienced at any venue. It was a constant echoing wall of indistinct sound that seemed to be coming from a tin can. The problems were obvious from the first note but little was done to fix the sound. I don’t know what the artists were hearing on stage but I am sure that both of them would have been embarrassed if they heard what their fans did last night. The solo, acoustic, quieter songs were generally audible until other instruments joined the chorus, and with the increase in volume came total distortion. I know that the Arena is not a perfect concert venue, but I have seen many concerts there over the years without such noticeable problems. As a musician, and a huge fan of both these artists over the past 40 years, I was as much disappointed for James and Carole as I was for myself. What a shame!

Bob and Cheryl

After your brutal review of The Eagles we thought we were out of our (feeble) minds since we thought it was outstanding. But we now feel more sane than ever now that you gave “proper” credit to James Taylor and Carole King. All the emotional value you described was very accurate in our case; Tapestry was the first gift I ever gave to my now-wife of 37 years. We had “You’ve Got a Friend” played at our wedding in 1973. And I too did sing along with “Natural Woman”!
Could not agree more, however, with the comments concerning the sound system; simply horrible. I am no sound expert but it was painfully obvious. But nothing could have ruined this for us. Excellent!

Bert

I was disappointed the show started late. We took CalTrain to and had to leave before it ended to catch last train of the day. I waited my entire life to see Carole King in person (I had seen James Taylor perform before) and felt cheated at not seeing last part of the show. We left as they were singing “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and now reading article see that “Fire and Rain” and “You’ve Got a Friend” were some of the songs we missed (which I assumed as much being they had not sung them yet). They need to make sure shows start on time and also work something out with CalTrain to have later train when there’s an event. Overheard conversations on train and so many people were also annoyed and disappointed in having not been able to stay to see entire show. Otherwise, it was memorable … even though we could only afford nosebleed seats. Carole’s “Tapestry” album was the very first album I ever owned and I still have the original LP.

Nancy

The show was fantastic. Great energy and wonderful harmonies.
We sat in 206. I don’t understand this kind of act playing in a venue
with poor sound. Overall, the experience was excellent!
We can’t get our money back for a poor sound system which is really
bad.
HP should stick to sporting events instead of music.
We love JT and CK!!!! Rock and Roll does live!

john quinn

JAMES AND CaROLE ARE SIMPLY THE BEST …….we will not see the likes of them ever again …two American treasures…you are so lucky to have been at such a concert

~ Carmen ~

JAMES TAYLOR & CAROLE KING ARE THE BEST…I MISSED THE SHOW ,I WANTED TO SEE IT SO BAD…HOPEFULLY THEY WOULD COME BACK AGAIN..AS SOME SAY U ARE LUCKY TO HAVE BEEN THERE TREASURE IT INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING…..JAMES TAYLOR U ROCK!!!!!

Steve Petulla

Jim you were spot on with your review!! Great show, I was one of the guys feeling like a “Natural Woman” during that number. Carole King has an amazing set of pipes.. My girlfriend is considerably younger than me and had not been exposed to much of Carole King’s catalog, needless to say I am in the process of burning (legally of course) her a copy of “Tapestry”

Nice job & thanks for the awesome review…..

Ken

I saw both the Portland and San Jose shows. I can attest that the problems with the awful sound were due to acoustics of the HP Pavilion (I was in section 115, row 10).

I’d never been to a concert at HP, and I couldn’t believe how bad it sounded. They should sue whoever designed that building.

By comparison, the audio at the Rose Garden in Portland was great.

P.S. Both shows were fantastic, though the crowd at the Portland show was much more enthusiastic! It was just incredible to see Lee, Danny and Russ play together.

Fern Silverman

I saw this show in Philadelphia. This was the only review I could find (I looked over many of them!) that actually captured what this concert meant to me and many other baby boomers, stepping way beyond just covering the concert itself. Beautifully written —

Dr Bruce

Went to both Philly shows. Tremendous sound quality, two incredibly professional singers. Loved second show more (omitted Steamroller),
closed with acoustic duet of Close Your Eyes. Carole King’s voice was crisp, energetic and distinct.Have seen JT dozens of times, always great. Awesome shows, most in crowd 56-65 yo,
was honor to take my wife and 15 yo son to a historic show that they never will forget. Cannot recommend this tour enough for baby boomers like myself who were weaned on this music, has tremendous life meaning.

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